Legging



w. R. L'OCKHART.

LEGGING.

APPLICATION FILED-JULY]. P916.

1 ,31 '7, 1 67 Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

W E5555; M g T-INVENTOR. @3 M 4, ATTORNEY.

Tm: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 1-. WASHINGTON, n. r

WALTER R. LOCKHART, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

LEGGING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

Application filed July 1, 1916. Serial No. 107,034.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER R. LOGKHART, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leggings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to leggings and more particularly to a type thereof adapted to be spirally wound upon the leg of the wearer and to be made of felt.

Heretofore, there has been successfully used a fabric spiral legging or puttee formed of a strip of knitted fabric so shaped that in winding, it will conform to the contour of the leg. This type of legging or puttee has been ound to be highly satisfactory since it is light of weight, does not chafe the wearer and is more sanitary than leather or canvas le gings. A fabric legging has the further a vantage that it affords ample support to the leg muscles and even with the most severe usage has no tendency to contract or shrink in a manner to interfere with the free circulation of the blood in, or the pliability of the muscles of, the leg.

In those leggings of the type above referred to, which have been heretofore used,

no provision has been made for holding the bottom of the legging in proper relation to the shoe of the wearer, either for facilitating the application of the legging, or preventing its creeping upwardly while in use, and the securing means for fastening the top of the legging has not been such as to facilitate the, quick application of the legging to the wearer or for securing permanency in the operative effect of the securing means.

In a legging or puttee made in accordance with my invention, one edge of the strip of which the legging is formed is provided with means adapted to be connected with the top openin of a shoe in a manner tohold the end of t e legging in the proper position to permit of the winding of the strip about the leg of the wearer, thus not only facilitating the application of the legging, but holding the lower end thereof in a position fixed as to the top of the shoe, while the legging is being worn. Furthermore, the legging is reinforced adjacent said means in a manner to protect the legg ng Where it engages the top of the shoe. The other end of the legging is provided with means whereby the top of the legging ma be firmly and quickly secured to the body 0 the legging while permitting sufficient adjustment to compensate for that slight variance in the measurements of the calf of the leg in different persons, so as to permit the production of leggings of a standard size for general use.

A legging made in accordance with my invention is preferably made of a woven fabric so cut and finished as to impart thereto the desired degree of elasticity to promote comfort to the wearer.

The invention consists in such novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a legging embodying my invention applied to the eg of the wearer, a portion t ereof being broken awa to disclose the manner of connecting the liottom of the legging to the shoe of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a view of the legging upon a smaller scale lying flat;

Fig. 3 is a view of the opposite ends of the legging, the portion intermediate said ends being broken away; and

Fig. 4L is a view of one end of the legging illustrating a modified form of securing means for the to thereof.

Like letters re er to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, a indicates a continuous strip of fabric so shaped as to be readily wound spirally, the central portion intermediate the ends of said strip being widened as shown. Preferably said strip is formed of a woven fabric, the stri being cut on the bias so as to impart flexi ility in the direction of the length of the strip. After being cut one edge of the strip, the inner edge of Fig. 2, is shrunk and both edges thereof are provided with edge stitching for the twofold pur ose of holding the form of the legging an preventing ravellng. I prefer to use the edge stitching instead of binding the edges, since the stitches are practically 1nvisible and a better finish in the article 18 secured.

Carried by one end of the strip a is a hook I; or other means ada ted to engage the edge of the front opening of a shoe in a manner to permit the lowermost loop of the legging when applied to the wearer to be held-1n-a position fixed with relation to the shoe both while the legging is being wound upon the leg and after it has been so wound. By usingka small hook as shown in the-drawings, an eifective grip is secured. upon the. shoe, thus permitting the use of' both hands in winding the legging..-

The other end of the strip a isprovided with fastening means so that whenthe legging is completely wound, the top thereof may be secured in position. Preferably this fastening means consists of. a tongue cand abuckle d carried by a strip 6,. the tongue preferably. being attached to the end of the strip and the buckle attached to the outer face of the strip sufficiently distantf-rom the endto permit less than one loop of the strip to intervene between the bu-ckle and the end of the strip. Any desired form of buckle may be used, that shown in the accompanyingdrawings beinga well known type of friction. buckle. By the proper spacing of the buckle with relation to the end of the strip a, suflicient latitude for adjustment to accommodate the legging to different users is afforded. ,In practice it has been found that the amount of adjustment required is not great. 7

. .Oneedge of the strip a adjacent the hook b fis provided with areinforced wear strip f (as indicated in Fig. 3 of ,the drawings), this strip in applying the legging following andbearingupon thetop of, the shoe upper in a manner to prolongthe-life of the legging by protecting this portion thereof against chafing against the top of the shoe. The end of the strip adjacent the tongue at ispreferably reinforcedas sho-wninFigs. 2 and 3. 7 V a 7 Referring now to the form of the invention'illustrated in Fig. .4: the securing means Fig. 4C. -'This reinforced end. is.,-provided for the top of the legging is shown as consisting of atab-g, having a button hole therein, secured adjacent the endof the strip a, a button It being secured uponthe outer face of saidstripin a position where it will cooperate with the tab 9 when the legging is mounted upon the leg of the wearer. The end of the strip is reinforced as shown'in with one member ofa snap clasp, the other member j of which is-carried adjacent the buttonh-and between it and the end ofthe strip. The relativeposition of the button hole inthe tab and the clasp member 11 and the button '71, and the clasp member j, should begthe-same. Inthis form of the invention the end of the strip beyond the tab 9 serves as a guardto protect the securing means and at the same time causes a neat finishitothe.

legging when in use.

. .Fbr i y. P rp e he .form or leg:

When the legging is notin use it may i be conveniently rolled or folded compact form, and-can be stored in a knapsackor other kit. When it is desired to don the leggings, however, it is merely necessary to engage the hook I) with the topv of a shoe and to wind the legging spirally aboutthe leg, drawing it taut as ,it is being "thus wound, and unwound fromthe roll; The form of the strip, willmake .anyparticular care in winding it unnecessary, andv when the strip has been entirely wound, it. .is merely necessary to utilize the securing means above described for securing the freeeridv of the strip about. the leg above the-calf thereof. .VVhen this securing means consists of a tongue and buckle as shownin Figs. 1

to 3, the top of the leggin may be drawn,

bymeans of the tongue su ciently 'tightte secure the desiredfit. When abuttonhole and button is used, however, the buttons must be accurately set in position to secure the desired fit. 1

In use,leggings made in accordance with my invention serve as a support for theleg muscles while affording sufficient ventilation and having sufficient absorptive properties to secure comfort-to .thewearer. The flexibility inherent to the strip aafiords sufficient pliabilityvto avoid chafing or binding of. the. leg. 1

The legging. maybe readilv washed-without losing its shape orflexibility.

It is not my intention toclaim broadly alegging consisting of a fabric strip. since such are old and well known in the art. 'I believe it to be new, however, to provide a legging of that type, wherein means are provided for holding the .bottom thereof in a position fixed with relationto theshoewhile the legging is being applied ,andafter' it has been applied, I alsobelieve; it is.new,- to provide a legging wherein thetop thereof is provided with permanent adjustable fasten ing means. I I r I It is not my'intention to ,limit the invention to the precise details 'of construction shown in, the accompanying drawings, it

being apparentthat such may .be Jvariecl without departing from the spirit. and scope of the invention. v I

,Having describedthe invention, what claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is A legging consisting of a strip of woven fabric cut on the bias and adapted to be spirally wound about the leg, a reinforcing wear strip secured to one end portion of said strip of fabric, a hook secured to said end portion and adapted to engage the edge of the front opening of a shoe, and adjustable means carried by the other end portion of said strip of fabric whereby the legging In witness whereof I hereunto afiix my 15 signature, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 26th day of June, 1916.

WALTER R. LOCKHART.

Witnesses:

EDGAR T. BEAMIsH, ARTHUR G, NIEMEIER.

copiel of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

